Table of contents:
- Post-tsarist education
- The burden on the educational system
- How much did schooling cost
- Objectives and Punishments
Video: Who in the USSR went to school for a fee, and How they dealt with the hard-core truants
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Soviet education was of high quality, affordable and free. But there was a period in the educational history of the USSR when education in high school classes cost money. The corresponding decree was adopted at the end of October 1940. And the next spring, the government, prioritizing order in society, went even further. In 1941, a decree on criminal liability for violating school discipline came into force. Wicked offenders were expelled from the educational institution and could be subjected to a trial for corrective labor.
Post-tsarist education
The young Soviet state inherited from tsarism in the greater mass of illiterate workers. The share of literate Russians before the October Revolution barely exceeded 30%. In elementary school, no more than half of the Russian-speaking citizens of school age studied, children of representatives of other nationalities, as a rule, did not attend school. The Bolsheviks made the general education school the main means of raising the people's cultural level - primary, seven-year and secondary. Immediately after the end of the October Social Revolution, the newly-made government, despite the severity of the state of the economy, undertook to carry out measures to spread school education.
Later, the right of Soviet citizens to education was enshrined in legislation and the Stalinist Constitution. The state ensured universal compulsory primary education, free seven-year education, a system of state scholarships for those who distinguished themselves, education in schools in their native language, depending on the region of residence, as well as the organization of free technical, production and agronomic training in labor collectives.
The burden on the educational system
By the decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) for children 8-10 years old, compulsory primary education in 4 classes was introduced from the 1930-31 academic year. Teenagers who did not attend primary school took an accelerated 1-2-year course. For children who managed to get primary education (school of the 1st stage), it was necessary to complete a seven-year school. Along with the increased enrollment of pupils, government spending also rushed up. So, in 1929-1930. the amount allocated to the school was 10 times higher than the same investment in the 1925-1926 academic year.
More and more new schools were built at a rapid pace, as a result, about 40 thousand educational institutions were put into operation in 2 five-year periods. At the same time, it was necessary to expand the training of teaching staff. Teachers and other school workers began to receive higher wages, which now depended on the level of education and work experience. As a result, by the beginning of 1933, almost 98% of children of primary school age regularly attended classes, which solved the problem of rampant illiteracy.
How much did schooling cost
In the fall of 1940, a government decree appeared, which introduced paid education in the country not only in senior school classes, but also in technical schools and universities. The procedures for calculating state scholarships for students have also changed. Education was paid on a one-time basis for the entire academic year. A year in a Moscow school cost 200 rubles, while studying in the provinces was cheaper - 150 rubles. Moscow and Leningrad universities had to pay four hundred rubles, while universities in Kiev or Novosibirsk cost 300 rubles. The size of the annual payment was equal to the level of the average monthly income, which in 1940 was equal to 331 rubles.
Despite the fact that the amount was not fabulous, many citizens refused to continue their studies after the 7th grade. At that time, many families remained large, and parents were forced to count every ruble. As for the villagers who work on collective farms for workdays, education of the third level was completely inaccessible for them. Within a year, the number of new paid practice for graduates of grades 8-10 became significantly less (50% reduction). However, there were also preferential categories. Children with disabilities, orphanages and pensioners retained the right to receive free education, but on condition that the pension is the only source of income. Training in military specialties and in schools for the training of civilian pilots remained free of charge.
Preferences were also given to students who were successful in science. Those who, in the course of their studies, earned 2/3 of excellent marks and the rest at least 4, did not pay for their studies. This order concerned secondary school classes, technical schools and higher educational institutions. Half the amount was charged for correspondence and evening forms of education in secondary and higher institutions.
Objectives and Punishments
The introduction of social benefits in the form of public education did not have time to be mastered by the forces of the state, which had eliminated the consequences of the revolution, civil war and was on the verge of a new military threat. Therefore, the introduction of substantial fees for education in senior school classes was a forced measure. The Second World War flared up, the terrible Patriotic War was breathing in the back, and the Soviet Union threw all its strength into preparation. At the same time, no one forgot about the seriousness of compulsory universal education, deciding to rely on the help and understanding of their own people.
At that time, such a step looked like an extremely rational solution, not only from a financial point of view. The Soviet Union desperately needed a large number of workers, but the role of representatives of the intelligentsia at that time faded into the background. And since military educational institutions remained free, seven-year schools replenished the Soviet ranks of the military elite. Young men willingly went to flight, infantry, tank schools, which was wise in the conditions of the impending war. By the way, in order to regulate labor reserves, another decree has appeared. It concerned the introduction of criminal liability for persistent violators of discipline in educational institutions and for absenteeism. If a student was expelled from school, he was threatened with correctional labor for up to a year in prison conditions.
Well, special educational institutions were created for difficult students. In which the most successful teacher became Anton Makarenko, although he was repeatedly removed from the leadership of the colony.
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